“…respect your body so you can feel better about who you are. It’s hard to reject the diet mentality if you are unrealistic and critical about your body size or shape. All bodies deserve dignity.”
Body image is a topic that comes up a lot when working on creating a more positive and peaceful relationship with food. In our society today (and for hundreds of years) people have felt pressure to be in a “thin body.” Unrealistic body ideals persist despite research demonstrating that dieting for weight loss is almost always ineffective— a topic we’ve covered in other posts and on our podcast, Nutrition For Mortals.
The eighth principle of Intuitive Eating is: Respect Your Body. I really like this concept because it is about respect, not passing judgements. We can give our bodies respect despite any complicated feelings we may be experiencing. The time for respecting our bodies is now, not after we’ve had “success” with weight changes we’ve been pursuing.
Said differently— accepting your body and respecting your body are two different things. When someone struggles with body image, accepting your body takes time and hard work. Respecting your body means treating it with dignity and honoring its basic needs regardless of whether you feel accepting of it in the moment.
Body respect can feel like a strange idea at first. In the Intuitive Eating book, authors Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch suggest thinking of respecting your body in two ways…
First, focus on finding comfort
Yes, I mean actually physically being comfortable. Do your clothes fit comfortably on your body or are they poorly fitting? Your clothes are supposed to fit your body, not the other way around. Taking time to find clothes in your closet that fit comfortably is a good place to start and then determining if there are any new items you might need in order to have clothes that fit your here-and-now body.
With the summer approaching, can you give your body respect by allowing it to stay comfortable and cool in hot weather? Wearing certain articles of clothing, like shorts, t-shirts, and bathing suits can feel very overwhelming for folks who have challenging relationships with their bodies. However, can you take steps to show your body respect in this way, even if it feels hard at first. Making that choice to go swimming in the pool on a hot day can start an upward spiral of body respect and acceptance.
Second, respond to your basic needs
Being responsive to our basic needs includes keeping ourselves nourished throughout the day, moving our body in a way that we like but also feels good for our body, staying hydrated, talking with a therapist, spending time with family and friends, and maintaining work-life balance. Even if you don’t yet feel comfortable in your body, it still deserves to have its needs met.
“View your body as an instrument, not an ornament.” This is a mantra from Lexie Kite, PhD and Lindsay Kite, PhD, authors of More Than A Body. It can be helpful in shifting the focus to what amazing things our bodies can DO, rather than how it appears. They write, “when you focus on appearance, it’s a form of objectification, which undermines your self-worth.”
No matter where you are in your body image journey, know that you are not alone and your body deserves respect. Body image work is challenging work and it’s helpful to have a team that might include a dietitian and a therapist. Remember, you can do hard things!
